Camp John Hay is a massive mixed-use development and forest watershed next to the city of Baguio. Possessing mild temperatures you won’t find anywhere else in the Philippines, this place is BEAUTIFUL! It really is an oasis within Baguio and also within the Philippines. There are multiple hotels, restaurants, and corporate sites within the “Camp”. 🌳 🏃♀️ 🍃
The Camp was first established in 1900 as a reservation for American soldiers during the Philippine-American war. 🇺🇸 🇵🇭 This was meant to be a refuge from the HEAT of the Philippine lowlands. During WW2 the Japanese dropped 72 bombs on the camp. They later surrendered to the Americans at this very site. The camp remained in the hands of the Americans until 1991 as an Air and Military base, before it was given back to the Filipinos. 🪖 🎖️
Now, let’s get to the review of The Manor Camp John Hay!
The Manor Camp John Hay Complete Review
The Manor Camp John Hay is a 4 star hotel, and with this comes high expectations. We had read that this is the best hotel in Baguio before coming. In some respects, the hotel lived up to the hype. In other aspects, it most definitely did not. We’ve broken down this review into several different aspects – service, rooms, breakfast, and facilities.
Let’s get started. Also, if you want true luxury, checkout The Shangri-La in Manila. This was by far the most luxurious hotel experience we have ever had in the world!
Category 1 – The Service
Grade: B-
In the Philippines, this is always expected to be top notch. Especially at a luxury hotel like this. However, at The Manor the service fell a bit short. Allow us to explain.
When we first arrived in our car, there were men waiting to bring our bags up to our room with a cart. This service was great and friendly.
We then proceeded to the front desk where the women who were working were quite friendly, although there were multiple mix-ups with our stay. At first they didn’t have our breakfast included, even though it was included on our receipt. Then when we went to checkout, they said they couldn’t find our key in the room, even though it was exactly where we said it was. This kind of thing doesn’t usually happen at luxury hotels in the Philippines.
Overall, the service at The Manor was not quite as friendly as we expected it to be. Especially at the breakfast, it didn’t seem as if the workers were very happy to be there, which was very different from some of the nice hotels we have stayed at in Manila. (Shangri-La in Manila)
There were no major problems with the service, but we have definitely encountered friendlier service here in the Philippines.
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Category 2 – The Rooms
Grade: B-
We stayed in a Superior Room without a balcony, facing the courtyard. There is no air-conditioning at this hotel. We found this to be a bit annoying when it came time to sleep. It’s not really hot in Baguio, but it still gets into the 80’s during the day which can make the rooms warm. There was a ceiling fan in the room but the rooms could definitely use some more ventilation. Also, since we didn’t have balcony doors to open, we could only open the 2 small windows, which didn’t allow for adequate ventilation.For a 4-star hotel we would expect more in this department.
There were two glass bottles of complementary water in the room which was nice. There was also a bunch of other food and coffee available for purchase in the room. If you need water, there’s plenty more in the lobby as well. If we were to come back, we would make sure to get a room with a balcony with a courtyard view. This way we could cool the room off, and we’d have somewhere to enjoy the amazing view. Without a balcony you don’t fully get to enjoy the mountain views.
Category 3 – The Breakfast
Grade: B+
The breakfast was very good, and definitely worth the extra cost. The buffet is huge and has a ton of options ranging from a traditional western breakfast (pancakes, eggs, french toast, bread) to a more traditional filipino breakfast.
There are tons of tables to sit outside and eat with a great view over the mountains and watch the sunrise. The service at breakfast was decent but not great. Definitely room for improvement here.
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Category 4 – The Facilities
Grade: B
The main reason most people come to The Manor at Camp John Hay is for the facilities. The beautiful trees, the rivers, the greenery … this was by far the best part for us.
Here’s our review of all the “other stuff” that comes with your room at The Manor Camp John Hay.
The Outdoors
Grade: A – The Best Part of The Manor Camp John Hay
The outdoors is beautiful at this place and a lot of people spend all day exploring the campus. There’s an outdoor rock wall, and plenty of other stuff to enjoy. You won’t run out of things to do here!
Camp John Hay is a beautiful and relaxing place to walk around during the day and at night. (very calm and safe) This is the best part of the hotel.
The Gym
Grade: D
The gym leaves a lot to be desired at The Manor.
It’s very small, with 2 benches, 2 treadmills, and some free weights. I don’t think more than 2 or 3 people can fit in here comfortably, and it’s a pretty big hotel so what’s going on here??
When I was running on the treadmill there were three other people in the room and it was very hard to move around in the room. The gym should be made a lot bigger to live up to quality of the rest of the hotel.
Sauna/Spa
Grade: B+
This was our favorite part of the hotel. The sauna is very new and clean and very hot. A lot of saunas these days simply aren’t hot enough, but this one definitely is. The sauna at this hotel is top notch. There are also showers, lockers, and a jacuzzi in this area.
Summary – Is The Manor Camp John Hay Worth It?
The Manor at Camp John Hay is the “nicest” hotel in Baguio, and it’s set on a beautiful plot of land. The surroundings of this place definitely make The Manor worth it. The hotel feels very historic, and the service is decent. The breakfast is great, and the rooms are decent as well. The lack of air-conditioning and small gym are annoying, but The Manor is not too expensive which makes a stay here very enjoyable and definitely worth the price.
The Good…
- 1 – Very good breakfast.
- 2 – Tons of outdoor things to enjoy within walking distance.
- 3 – Very historic.
- 4 – Very friendly bell-hops.
- 5 – Tons of space to sit inside and outside
- 6 – Great sauna and spa.
Improvements…
1 – The gym isn’t big enough. There are two benches and two treadmills and the room is very small. There were four people in there when I was working out, and that’s just way too many for the room. The room should be made much bigger to accommodate the guests. There are 165 rooms at this hotel.
2 – The rooms are outdated. The coffee machine didn’t work in our room (the outlets were broken). There’s no AC. There were a bunch of technical problems that came up.
Checkout our post on Sagada to see if it’s worth visiting. We also have detailed 2 Week and 3 Week Guides to The Philippines! Let us know what you think of The Manor!
